The present patent application claims benefit of the provisional application 60/000,895 filed on Jul. 6, 1995.
The present invention relates to an insulation product and more specifically to an insulation product comprising fiberglass, scrap nylon, and a thermo-setting resin.
The use of fiberglass in the manufacturing of acoustical and insulation products is well known. Moreover, insulation materials comprised of fiberglass and organic fibers, including cotton, as well as synthetic or man-made fibers, formed into mats and utilizing a thermo-setting resin have been utilized for many years in the manufacturing of insulation and acoustical products. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,199 teaches the use of thermoplastic polymers and refractory fibers of glass in the manufacturer of a non-woven porous flexible fabric and U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,855 teaches the use of cotton, rayon, nylon or glass fibers with an appropriate resin for a thermal or acoustical insulation material. And, U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,235 teaches a non-woven fibrous product comprising a blended matrix of glass fibers and synthetic fibers having a conductive material of powdered aluminum, copper or carbon black and a thermo-setting resin dispersed in the matrix. However, a number of these insulation products which contain glass fibers and synthetic fibers are generally brittle and are easily broken or cracked when subjected to excessive flexing during installation or use. Moreover, in the processing of short length synthetic fibers, those less than 1/4" in length, a number of processing problems have been encountered. One particular problem is spillage and loss of fiber material during transferring operations of blends of these short length synthetic fibers with fiberglass. In transferring from one conveying system to another there is a high percentage of spillage of the short synthetic fibers from the blend.